It looks like we might get some frost this week. Of
course, here we are once again at the peak of the tomato season.
Here are some suggestions for saving your hard-earned tomato
crop:
- Pick all of the tomatoes off the vine. DONATE
YOUR GREEN TOMATOES TO GreenSpace Partners for our October 17 Green Tomato
Cook-Off. If you have a substantial quantity to donate, I’ll
even come pick them up.
- Keep your green tomatoes and COMPETE IN THE COOK-OFF.
I’ve had good luck storing tomatoes in boxes in my basement. Separate
layers of tomatoes with layers of newspaper, burlap, or something else breathable.
Check the tomatoes twice a week, composting anything that’s gone
soft or wrinkly.
- Pull the vines right out of the ground by the
roots. Hang the vines upside-down in your basement or in a garage
where they won’t freeze. I’ve used this method myself,
and successfully harvested ripe red tomatoes on Thanksgiving Day.
- Cover your vines in the garden to protect them with
frost. Just about any sort of cover will work. Plastic,
burlap, painting drop cloths, or old sheets or blankets. This will
work for a light frost, but if the temperature is going to drop below
about 28 degree Fahrenheit, please see #s 1-3 above.
Our Green Tomato Cook-Off is scheduled for Thursday, October
17 from 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Pillsbury House, 35th
& Chicago. Confirmed competitors include Rep Phyllis Kahn, CM Dean
Zimmermann, and Green Institute ED Michael Krause. Surely you can
compete with that. And if you see the Mayor, dare him to defend his
title. It was the Rybak Campaign, although not R.T. himself, that won the
cook-off last year with a wonderful green tomato cake.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Corrie Zoll
Phillips
Corrie Zoll, Program Director
GreenSpace Partners
A program of The Green Institute
2801 21st Avenue South, Suite 110
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Telephone 612-278-7119
Facsimile 612-278-7101
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.greeninstitute.org/GSP
